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A. L. DAWSON. 1 FISH HOOK. 'No'. 289,508.. Patented Deo. 4, 1888.

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` FISH HOOK. v 180.289.508. 8 Patented 13684,1888.

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' ARTEMAS LORD DAWSON, OE ELx POINT, DAKOTA TERRITORY, ASSTGNOR OE ONE-HALE To OHARLES HOWARD FREEMAN, OE SAME rLAoE.

FISH-HOOK.

SPECIFICATION' forming part of Letters Patent No. 289,508, dated December 4, 1883. Application filed July 5, 1883. (No model.) y

may be used at the same time; and it consists in providing a mechanism whereby the hook or hooks may be detachably adjusted and secured in place Within grooves formed in a shaft, and also in a spoon of peculiar construction, to be used, in connection with the hook device, forV trolling, all as hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents my device in elevation, together with the spoon ati tached by a peculiar mechanism, and other mechanism applied to the concave surface of the trolling-spoon, to Operate a n formed on the convex surface thereof; Fig. 2, a sectional view, showing a hook lying within a* longi tudinal groove in the Shaft, and secured in position by means of a thimble fitting over the said shaft, and a nut Working on the screwthreaded reduced portion thereof; Fig. 3, a transverse section, showing hooks lying Within longitudinal grooves inthe shaft which is incased by a thimble; Fig. 4, a perspective view of the shaft, having its enlarged portion provided with longitudinal grooves to admit Vthe Shanks of the hooks, and grooves formed` on the shoulder of the said shaft to receive the bent portions of the hook-Shanks; Fig. 5, a top view of the shaft, Showing the hooks in position in the grooves formed on the shoulder thereof; Fig. 6, a plan view of the concave surface of the trolling-spoon, showing the mechanism for detachably connecting it to the shaft, and the mechanism for operating `the n formed in the convex surface of the Fig. 9, a section of the trolling-spoon taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 6, and viewed in the direction of the arrowheads.

.A is a shaft provided with a ring or hook, o, at one extremity and enlarged at the other extremity, where it is provided with longitudinal grooves u, and with grooves a', formed on the shoulder resulting from the enlargement of the Said shaft.

B B are fish-hooks of the usual form, which iit into the longitudinal grooves in the enlarged portion of the shaft A, but havetheir Shanks bent at one end, as shown at x in Fig. 5 of the drawings, to enter the grooves'formed in theshoulder of the said shaft. These grooves u and u may be formed in any desired number upon the shaft. When placed within the grooves on the shaft A, the hooks are kept in place by means of a thimble, C, formed to slide along the said shaft till it covers the enlarged portion thereof, when it is firmly secured by the pressure of the nut t, which works on the screw-threads s, provided on the reduced portion of the shaft.

'Ihe hook, as just described, is to be used as an ordinary bait-hook; but for trolling a spoon is necessary, and I have invented an improved trolling-spoon to be used in connection with my device above described, when the latter is employed in trolling, of which the following is a description.

D is the trolling-spoon,which may be of the usual form, as shown in the drawings; or it may have any other of the various forms in which such devices are made. At one extremity it is provided, in its manufacture, with a projection, r, having abroad head and bent toward the concave Side of the spoon. Onv the shaft A is formed a Shoulder, q, to conne the longitudinal movement of the i spring o, by means of which the trolling-spoon is attached to the said shaft A, between the said shoulder and the ring or hook o. The spring o is formed, preferably, of a single piece of wire bent to form a U, and again bent at its curved end, which projects beyond the upper edge of the spoon,when the latter is attached to the shaft, to permit the said spoon to lie in the direction of the said shaft. To secure the trolling-spoon to the shaft A, the prongs of the spring o are slipped thereon, thence underneath'the head of the projection r, to embrace the latter, when the ends o of the spring o,which are bent outward, as shown, extend to the line of and are caused to enter the holes n, formed at the desired distance down the body of the trolling-spoon. The normal position of the prongs of the spring is such that they are wider apart than the space between the holes n, which renders it necessary to compress them between the thumb and a finger, in order to insert the ends therein, where they are held by the lateral resistance of the said spring.

To detach the trolling-spoon from the shaft, it is only necessary to compress the prongs of the spring o together, when, the ends being freed from the holes n, they will spread farther apart and release the projection r on the spoon D and permit easy withdrawal of the spring from the shaft.

Instead of the holes u through the body of the spoon, staples or some similar device may be used to hold the ends of the spring together; but I prefer the construction above described.

Below the holes u in the trolling-spoon is secured, to the concave side thereof, one side of a right-angled spring, m, having its other side projecting downward along the said spoon to meet the opening Z, through which the bent end of the said spring projects in an upward direction, and backward sufficiently far to prevent easy withdrawal thereof. This end of the spring m is of sufficient length to touch the iin E when the latter occupies a vertical position. rIhe said fin E is hinged by means of bearings 7p, and apin, fi, to the convex side of the trolling-spoon, toward its broadest end. These bearings k are preferably formed by stamping or cutting out the desired shape in the body of the spoon, leaving them attached thereto on one side, and then bending them to stand in a position perpendicular to the said spoon. bearings lc are formed to lie diagonally opposite each other on the back of the spoon, and the fin E, which is preferably of an oval form, cut diagonally across, is provided with a hinge appliance formed on its base, through which passes the pin c', which enters the bearin k. th fin E, and the fact that it is thrown up against the spring by the water in trolling, and maintained at an angle with the spoon by the spring m, the effect will be to produce a rapid spiral motion of the spoon around the shaft, thereby lending to it the glistening and attractive appearance of a small fish.

It is not essential that the iin E should be on the convex side of the spoon, the same effect being attained by having it on the concave side, in which case the right angled spring m will be fastened on the convex side. It is obvious, also, that the spring m may be of some other form than that shown. 4I pre- By reason of the oblique position of fer, however,l the spring represented in the i drawings.

The fin on my device in no way detracts from the purpose of the spoon, when seized in the mouth of a fish, to serve as a guide to the hook or hooks, since, when so seized, it is easily compressed, owing to the flexibility of the spring m, against the side of the spoon as it slips through the mouth of the fish. When used for the purpose of trolling, feathers h may be secured upon the thimble G. These are easily removable when desired; but these do not in the least interfere with the adjusting of hooks in or their removal from the shaft.

Besides the advantages above enumerated, my device possesses various others over the multiple hook in common use, for if in the latter a hook becomes impaired it cannot be immediately replaced, because it is fastened to the others by means of solder, and if given into the hands of a workman for repairing, the expense of adjusting one hook is nearly as great as the original cost of the whole device, to say nothing of the time lost, whereas with my device, in case of injury to a hook, it is only necessary to unscrew the nut t by a few turns, when the thimble C is slipped back on the shaft, the injured hook removed, and another inserted to take its place by the user himself without difficulty and little delay. Again, should a fish bite so savagely as to drive the barb far into the tissues of the mouth and gills, or even swallow the hook, or if by accident it becomes caught in the clothing of the user 'or others, it is only necessary to detach it from its position in the shaft, when it may be readily released from its entanglement by pushing it entirely through, thus freeing it at its shank end, instead of tearing out the hook.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with the shaft A, provided with grooves, and with the screw-threads s, fish-hooks B, fitting within the said grooves, and thimble C, to incase the said shaft and hooks, and the nut t, working` on the said screw-threads', as and for the purpose described.

2. In a device for fishing, a spoon provided with a fin secured by its edge to one face of the spoon, at an angle to the axial line thereof, whereby a progressive motion of the spoon through the water causes it to rotate, substantially as described.

3. In combination with a shaft or holder for the hooks, the trolling-spoon D, provided with avprojection, r, or similar device, and the spring o, to embrace the shaft or holder .A and the said projection, having its ends detachably secured to the said spoon, substantially as described.

4. In combination with a trolling-spoon, the iin E, hinged at one edge to one face of the IIO spoon, at an angle with the axial line of the same, and a spring to hold the said iin at an angle with the face of the spoon when acted against by the Water, substantially as described.

5. In combination With a trolling-spoon, D,

iin E, hinged in an oblique position to one face of the said spoon, spring m, secured to the opposite face and passing through an opening in the said spoon, to maintain the iin at an 1o angle to the spoon in opposition to the passage of the Water, and mechanism for connecting the said spoon to the shaft or holder for the hooks, substantially as described.

` ARTEMAS LORD DAWSON. In presence of- CHARLES HOWARD FREEMAN, ALONZO HAssoN. 

